(Reuters) - Militants must be "cleaned out" of Syria's Idlib province, Iran's Foreign Minister said on Monday as he prepared for talks between Iran, Syria and Russia about confronting the last major enclave held by rebels opposed to President Bashar al-Assad.
Syrian government forces are preparing a phased offensive in Idlib and surrounding areas held by rebels fighting Assad, a close Russian ally who has also been backed by Iranian forces in the country's civil war.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday Washington viewed the government assault on Idlib as an escalation of Syria's war, and the State Department warned that Washington would respond to any chemical attack by Damascus.
The Iranian Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, spoke at the start of a visit to Damascus for talks with Syrian officials about a Sept. 7 meeting between Iran, Turkey and Russia on confronting militants in Idlib, Iranian state media reported.
"All of Syrian territory must be preserved and all the sects and groups should start the round of reconstruction as one collective and the displaced should return to their families," Zarif said, according to Fars News.
"And the remaining terrorists in the remaining parts of Idlib must be cleaned out and the region should be placed back under the control of the Syrian people."
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is scheduled to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Iran, according to Fars News. The Kremlin says the meeting will take place in Tehran on Sept. 7. READ MORE
